As the Twin Valley High School varsity boys’ basketball team begins practice this week, and coach Chris Brown works on setting his roster to reach the Barre Auditorium, three Wildcat alumni have been hard at work, playing basketball at the collegiate level.

Candon Rusin, a junior who transferred to Division I University of Vermont last year from Marist, was forced to sit out last season per NCAA rules, and watch his new team win the America East Championship and reach the NCAA tournament from the bench. But this year is different. As a Catamount, Rusin has hit the ground running. In his first four games, Rusin is averaging 9.8 points per game, including a season-high 18 points in a victory at home against Yale.

Rusin who left Twin Valley in 2009 for for Topsail High School in North Carolina, played 68 games in a Wildcat uniform. Rusin’s 21.6 point per game average is still an all-time team record, one of 11 individual Twin Valley records he holds. Rusin is also second on Twin Valley’s all-time scoring list, one of three players in the team’s eight-year history to reach the 1,000-point mark. Rusin was also named Vermont Basketball Coaches’ Player of the Year in 2008.

Third on Twin Valley’s all-time scoring list is Scott Hayford, a junior forward playing for Division III Nazareth College in Rochester, NY. In four games with the 3-1 Golden Flyers, Hayford is averaging 7.8 points and 2 assists per game. Hayford was named to the All-Tourney team following a Nazareth tournament in which he had 19 points and 11 rebounds in two victories. Hayford scored a season-high 12 points in Nazareth’s season opener at home against New Paltz.

Between 2006 and 2010, Hayford set 15 team records, and is the team’s all-time steals and assists leader. Hayford is also the only Wildcat with a triple-double, recording three in four years.

Another Twin Valley graduate, Ian Marquis, is a junior forward for the Division III Norwich Cadets. In three games this season Marquis is averaging 2.3 points, 9.3 minutes, and 2.7 rebounds per game. With Twin Valley, Marquis averaged 7.6 points and nine rebounds in 22 games played.